Critical Releases in Homeland Security: April 3, 2013

"From 2007 to 2011, an estimated annual average of 259,700 nonfatal violent and property hate crime victimizations occurred against persons age 12 or older residing in U.S. households. Of these hate crimes, victims perceived that the offender was motivated by bias against the victim's religion in 21% of victimizations. The percentage of hate crimes motivated by religious bias more than doubled in 2007-11, compared to the 10% motivated by religious bias in 2003-06 (figure 1) . In comparison, the percentage of hate crimes motivated by racial bias was slightly lower in 2007-11 (54%) than in 2003-06 (63%). The findings from this report came primarily from the Bureau of Justice Statistics' (BJS) National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), which has been collecting data on crimes motivated by hate since 2003. The NCVS and the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) Hate Crime Statistics Program, which are the principal sources of annual information on hate crime in the United States, use the definition of hate crime provided in the Hate Crime Statistics Act (28 U.S.C. § 534). The act defines hate crimes as 'crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, gender or gender identity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity.' The NCVS measures crimes perceived by victims to be motivated by an offender's bias against them for belonging to or being associated with a group largely identified by these characteristics."

"The continually evolving strategic environment coupled with the ascendant role of Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) necessitates a comprehensive understanding of these organizations. TCOs represent a globally-networked national security threat and pose a real and present risk to the safety and security of Americans and our partners across the globe. This challenge blurs the line among US institutions and far surpasses the ability of any one agency or nation to confront it. Thus countering TCOs necessitates a whole-of-government approach and beyond that vibrant relationships with partner nations based on trust. These are essential if the U.S. is to remain the partner of choice, and effectively counter TCOs globally. Weak and unstable government institutions coupled with scarce legitimate economic opportunities, extreme socio-economic inequities, and permissive corrupt environments are key enablers that allow TCOs to operate with impunity. These same factors enable the emergence of VEOs [Violent Extremist Organizations]. The potential nexus between VEOs and TCOs remains an area of deep concern. In this context, deeper insight into the contemporary face of TCO's will facilitate the development of strategies to counter and defeat them. In this struggle, DoD lacks law enforcement authorities but brings to the government some unique capabilities. This white volume examines the 'new' face of these transnational crime organizations and provides a geopolitical perspective and implications to U.S. national security. The nexus of culture and technology (including modern communication technologies) and their impact on the evolution of TCOs is discussed in addition to their implications to countering TCOs."